The Cogals
Cogals (pronounce it correctly: kog-al) are meetings of like-minded misfits brought together by the promise of beer, preceded by a bike ride. Cogals are free, open to all, organized by our fellow Velominati and are always followed by consumption of post-ride recovery ales and merriment. These are gatherings of unbridled observance of Rule #4.
Cogals differ themselves from other group rides by the meeting the following criteria:
- First, Cogals are free, organized and supported through Velominati, though not necessarily a Keeper. Anyone is welcome to join a Cogal. Legally speaking, however, we have no involvement, so if you crash or die, it’s your own problem. Please be careful to study the route previously and take precautionary measures to stay safe.
- Second, a Cogal is a day-long undertaking that focuses 100% on the bike. The rides are categorized (Casually Deliberate, Rule #5, Rule #10, for example) but are long. This is what you’re doing today, nothing else; see Rule #4. Rides can be any length, but a minimum distance of 130km should be expected.
- Third, Cogals always include a session of Malted Recovery Beverage Consumption after the ride. Whenever possible, it should also include a pre-ride espresso.
Not all the events in The Cogals are actual Cogals. We also post rides and events that are of interest to the community, as well as Keepers Tours, which are Velominati-hosted, paid cycling Tours tailored to the tastes of a velominatus.
Any member of the community is welcomed to organize a Cogal. If interested, either post your interest below or email us with the following information:
- Date of Cogal
- Starting Address (ideally somewhere neutral, like a café or park)
- Route (MapMyRide, Bikely, or Strava)
- Ride Classification (Casually Deliberate, Rule V, Rule VV, or suggest another)
- A paragraph describing the Cogal
Upcoming Cogals
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Submit Your Own Cogal:
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@VanBrudenrijden any level you like I do believe, just a bunch of like minded souls going for a ride is what it is. Just make sure you plan a fairly interesting and/or challenging parcours and follow the Rules.
I do believe this is how I’ll show up to the next cogal I attend. After careful review of The Rules, I find no specific rule banning cats.
@mcsqueak
Ah, here now: there’s the letter of the law, and then there’s the spirit of the law. You have to know you’re courting excommunication just for posting that…
@Steampunk
I think this is a case of “transcending” the rules.
@mcsqueak
Mmm, well……….ya. I got nothing.
Hi (site) keepers. FYI, links to previous Cogals, eg. 2much on 100, 2012 are not routing properly. Would love to read about upcoming Cogals from last year’s reports.
Thanks!
Ok, I’m in the unfashionable but very pointy Eastern Pyrenees and available for a ride in the environs of Foix between the 16th and 26th of July – there’s talk of the VMH taking me to the Tourmalet (or the Tourmaline as she’s named it in her special world) too. Anyone around and want to plan un Cogal?
What are the rules on a cyclocross/gravel road style cogal? For the Scottish/British Velominati, would many be up for it after the success of Snoov’s recent ride?
@campbellrae1
I am trying to concoct a route that takes in short but steep hills and rougher Tarmac, however finding decent gravel that doesn’t need an off road bike is difficult. Forestry roads might be ok but they are often just dead ends, farm roads are probably too rough for PR style machinery, after all we want to have fun not punctures. There are plenty of steep routes around here so that may be the better route to go. Ideally you would have 2 lane roads for the desending section to make warp speed a bit safer!
@the-farmer The route I had in mind was definitely more cyclocross than road ride, so would require a CX bike at least!
Liking the idea of the classics style cogal route though!
@campbellrae1
I’m up for that. Latest addition to my shed is a CX bike and the first month was spent riding everywhere local that I’ve taken my hardtail MTB. I’m now seriously considering selling the mtb as I had so much fun and the cx bike coped with ease, even over a couple of drops. It was all farm roads, gravel, hard packed singletrack, cliff paths and a bit through local woods. No punctures either. I’ve put road tyres on it for commuting now but the 32mm CX tyres will go back on later in the year. Fit the correct treads and don’t inflate too hard (35 front, 40 psi rear?) and you can cope with shortish sections of tarmac.
Miles of trails in Drumtiochty/ Fetteresso / Durris area south west of Aberdeen. Worth a look on an OS map. Bring GPS, been ‘lost’ in there once before, don’t fancy it again. Returned just as the rescue mororbikes were preparing to look for me!
@JohnB That’s good to hear! I was thinking of something from the Drymen area as I know the trails well, something like this but in reverse:
http://app.strava.com/activities/18926981
With another loop around the Thee Lochs Forest drive and Loch Venachar to bring the distance up. Should then be up to 120km or so with around 2000m of climbing. It’s a bit shorter than the minimum distance, but it is offroad…
But very happy to take suggestions of alternative routes! Only going with that as a starter because I have a real soft spot for the glen than runs at the northern most part of that loop, Gleann Gaoithe. It feels nice and remote as there is pretty much nothing else in it! Although the climb up to it from Loch Lomond is utterly brutal, it climbs something like 340m in 1.6km, had to stop while descending it last time as my rear brake’s fluid started to boil! Still, Rule #5 and all that.
@campbellrae1
thats a perfect part of the country, much better than where I was thinking which is 90% fire road. I would get us lost, better to go where one of the group has a well established knowledge of the trails. I suspect @strathlubnaig, @upthetrossachs and @theengine may have some knowledge of this area too? Best make sure the first aid kit fits in the jersey pocket. It wouldn’t do to fit it under the saddle epms style or wear a camelback on a Cogal.
I’m in if the date suits, off to France on the 14th for a week and of course two stages. CX bike check, enthusiasm check, amazing legs built for climbing – nope.
To assist any early planning, I’m in Gran Canaria honng my climing legs and cultivating my tan lÃnes for 10 days from 24 July.
@JohnB
Knowledge might be stretching it in my case but if we can fix a date some of the club are Rule compliant and know the territory off road well. I’m in the Pyrenees from the 11th to the 29th of this month – still no takers for the Tourmalet I note…
@the Engine
How far are the Alps form there? Come and join us as we take on Alp d’Huez.
@snoov
Can’t be more that a day’s drive…
@the Engine
What days are you thinking of doing Tourmalet? And how far west will you get? Maybe over to San Sebastian to do the Jaizkibel? I know some great roads in that area.
@Skip
Depending on Mrs Engine’s and the elder Enginette’s hormonal states somewhere around the 20th – 21st but being on holiday I’m fairly relaxed on scheduling. Spain’s probably a country too far this year.
Haven’t really thought of a date yet, maybe something in late August or early September? That way the midges should have eased off a little bit but the weather should still be ok…
That sounds like a plan, I dare say I could hire a hard tail from somewhere, maybe even get something with a rigid fork. Is the such a thing in the MTB world nowadays? Or what would be the general consensus on taking the Domane after all it does have 25mm tyres!
i would prefer as early in August as possible.
for the classics type cogal it would be better in Rule #9 weather anyway, so maybe sometime in November?
@the-farmer
Be careful taking the Domane off road. Way too nice for that. How tall are you? I have a hard tail mtb although I could also try to source something CX like from a club mate.
In Scotland we can get Rule #9 weather at any time of the year.
The track along Gleann Gaoithe is pretty rough, so a CX bike is probably the best choice, and I doubt you could actually get up the climb from Loch Lomond on a standard road crankset, even a compact would be a massive challenge!
I think I will be on my mountain bike, rather than my touring bike as it weighs a tonne! Even though it’s the closest thing I have to a CX bike, it’s definitely not a quick bike…
@campbellrae1
Sshit. My CX is a compact because I use it mostly for commuting. I like a challenge though, put a 27 on the back or leave the 25?
@JohnB
My CX rig has 46/36 chainrings so the 34 on a compact would be better n’est pas? Um, biggest sprocket is a ludicrous 32, to be changed when I put the 10 speed levers on.
@snoov You are correct. I never use that small ring and assumed it was a 36. Sur la plaque and all that…
@JohnB Definetly go for the biggest rear sprocket you can! The climb is quite short, certainly less than 2km, but the gradient is unrelenting. I think it climbs 340m, so that’s an average of just over 17%, but the straights hit 30% or more, almost cetainly more! Should be fun.
@snoov The 32 will probably be quite welcome!
Other than that one climb, the rest is pretty managable, and once you are at the top, it’s mostly downhill or flat for the next 20 odd km so plenty of time for the guns to recover before climbing over the Menteith Hills and down around Loch Venachar. @the Engine mentioned the loop around Glen Finglas previously, I haven’t ridden it before so not sure how it is, but that could be added on the far side of the loch if it is good or even rideable?!
This is the sort of route I had in mind, although it is a little different in that we turn off Loch Lomond at the Glen one south of Inversnaid, but Map My Ride wont pick it up as the 2 tracks don’t quite meet! So in reality we would be following the reverse of the strava route posted below for around 45km before heading into Aberfoyle and then following the Map My ride route.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/240153005
http://app.strava.com/activities/18926981
Let me know what you think!
Campbell.
@campbellrae1
Not getting the map my ride link but got the strava one. Description is good enough for me. What do you other guys think?
@JohnB Not sure why it isn’t loading, can always cut and paste the link into your browser ;)
@campbellrae1 Tried that too. It just opens up your profile page. No matter, I’ll tackle any route blind.
@JohnB That is odd. The route is pretty simple though, the reverse of the Strava route, but cutting off to Aberfoyle, then through the Queens Forest and up & round the Glen Finglas loop, which is roughly a 500m climb, and back to Drymen.
Only problem I can see with the route is the provision of malted recovery beverages, nowhere to clean up before the pub…
The Map My Ride should be visible now, I had set the privacy to just friends, oops!
Sorted. Spot on. Thinking back I’ve done a fair bit of mtbing in the Queen Elizabeth Forest park north and south of Aberfoyle back in the day, Nothing I can’t tackle on a cx bike on 34 x 27, although I was 15 years younger then.
30%!!!!! Did you say 30%? Will we need climbing gear?
Friends don’t ask friends to climb slab.
I may have solved my bike problem for your little outing, I have a, ahem, 17 year old alloy MTB, no suspension, 21 speed, rim brakes. It’s done less miles than the Domane so today I dusted it off, slapped the saddle from the BSO on it and went to the forest. I have forgotten how awesome offroading is. Had a blast so this may be the way forward, fits well, just need SPDs and shoes, unless I stick my spare set of looks on but it wouldn’t be easy walking if murphys law intervened.
what sort of % Tarmac are we talking about? I may invest in less chunky set of tyres so there is less resistance on the road,
Phantom aero bars ahoy, me hearties!
just need to get the date sorted now, have you had any more thoughts?
It will be quite a low percentage of tarmac, should be less than 30% depending on which way we came back over the Dukes Pass from the north. I would go with non-chunky tyres, as most of the ride will be on fire roads so you don’t want too much rolling resistance.
Still unsure over a date, I was thinking either the weekend of the 24-25th of August or the 31-01st of August/September. Does anyone have any preferences?
Also hoping to hear from someone regarding the Glen Finglas climb, I know a few people have done it on an MTB but I’m not sure if it will be ride-able on a CX bike?
Dammit,
you could probably have picked a time of year when I would be busier at work, but it would be hard! I’ll see nearer the time, if its Rule #9 weather ill be there.
Either weekend is fine at the moment. What weekend would suit you @the-farmer? Is there a freeish weekend between getting the barley harvested and then lifting tatties?
Best bet is to arrange it for what suits everyone else, then if the weather and workload suits ill be there.
Given that we haven’t had any other objections to the date, shall we set it as the 31st of August if that suits the majority?
Fine for me Campbell. Looking forward to it.
If anyone needs one I should be able to borrow a CX bike from a club mate. Suit 1.75 to 1.80cm tall. Let me know with plenty notice so I can give it a swift tweak and service as a cost for the hire
I hope that Nate, David, and Eric finish the ride today. I decided to take out an RV on highway 1, so I’m posting this from Stanford Hospital. other than that the right started out great!
Sheeit, Xyverz, that sucks! What the hell happened?
@Xyverz
I sure hope you (the bike) are OK. That’s some scary shit.
@Xyverz
Rv vs. Bike doesn’t seem a fair fight – Heal up quick.
Dooood! Sorry to hear that !